


Driving Lesson

by ImaSleepyBear



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: Adopted Children, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Disabled Character, Family Fluff, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Gen, Modern Era, Parental Roy Mustang, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-10-05 17:13:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17329127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImaSleepyBear/pseuds/ImaSleepyBear
Summary: Roy Mustang teaches his adopted son, Edward Elric, how to drive. They fight. They bond. It's cute.Inspired by GentleTouchGinger's fic, "And Then It Wasn't," in which Roy and Riza adopt the Elric brothers. It's the backstory for this one.





	Driving Lesson

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [and then it wasn't](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14630313) by [GentleTouchGinger](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GentleTouchGinger/pseuds/GentleTouchGinger). 



> This ended up longer than I thought it would be. I threw this together in literally a couple hours. 
> 
> Feedback is greatly appreciated!

Mustang stopped in the middle of the empty lot, shut the car off, and stepped out. It was a beautiful day in late summer. The sky was bright and clear. The planters were overgrown with tall grasses and unkempt trees. Leaves and acorns littered the pavement. Wherever the asphalt had cracked open, weeds sprouted and flourished. He took a deep breath and savored the fresh air.

“Why are we stopping here?” Ed called from the passenger’s seat. “The store’s closed. And abandoned, from the looks of it.”

Mustang turned back to the car. “We’re not here for the store; we’re here for the parking lot.” He spread his arms out wide. “It’s completely empty.”

“Yeah, so? Why wouldn’t it be?”

Mustang shook his head. The kid still hadn’t caught on. “It’s the perfect place to teach you how the drive.”

He didn’t get the enthusiastic response he was looking for. “Uh, Dad? I’m missing an arm and I have a prosthetic leg.”

“Oh really? I had no idea.” He placed his hands on his hips. “Don’t worry about it. With an automatic, you don’t have to constantly change gears. And you don’t use your left leg at all to drive. You’ll be fine.”

“But they probably won’t give me a license.”

“Even if they don’t, it’s still a good skill to know. Let’s say a burglar breaks in and I get hurt saving you and Al, and then you have to drive me to the hospital.”

“Or you fall down and hit your head because you’re old.”

“Or I decide not to drive you to the hospital because you’re being a smartass, and you have to do it yourself. You’d be shit out of luck if you didn’t know how.”

Ed still didn’t look convinced, but Mustang kept the smile on his face. He opened the driver’s door and gestured for Ed to come around. The kid sighed and then reluctantly got out of the car.

They left the windows down to keep a breeze circulating through the car. Once they were both situated in their seats, Mustang began. “Alright, the first thing you need to do is adjust your seat so you can see comfortably over the wheel.”

Ed snapped, “Is that some kind of short joke?!”

“No, it’s fact. Can you see what’s in front of the car?”

“Of course I can!”

Mustang threw his hands up in surrender. “If you say so. Now, adjust your mirrors so you can see into your blind spots.” He pointed out the buttons and told Ed his rule of thumb for where to place the side mirrors. Ed moved them into place, reached up to fix the rear-view mirror, and then looked to Mustang for confirmation. The man nodded and muttered, “Go ahead.” Ed reached his left arm across his chest to turn the key. “Okay, before you switch it into drive, press down on the brake--that’s the left one. And then change gears.” Again, Ed had to reach across his chest to use the lever. When he had his hand back on the wheel, Mustang continued, “Now just let your foot off the brake slowly. It’s an automatic, so it’ll start moving on its own.”

Ed didn’t take his foot off the brake. The engine continued to rumble as he sat there and stared silently ahead.

“Ed? Is something wrong?”

After a pause, Ed finally grumbled, “I can’t see over the wheel.”

“I knew you weren’t big enough; the seat’s adjusted for my size.”

_“Don’t call me small!”_

“I didn’t! I just said you’re not as big as me!”

“Well maybe you’re just a giant, ever think of that?!”

“I’m not a giant, I’m average height!”

“I told you not to call me small!”

_“I didn’t!”_

After Ed finally relented and raised his seat, he had to move the mirrors again. With his view unobstructed, he released the brake. The car slowly rolled forward.

“Perfect,” Mustang said. “See? You’re driving.”

Ed’s eyes lit up and his mouth split into a childish grin. “Yeah, I am!” He moved the wheel back and forth experimentally, and the car gently weaved through the lot.

“You’re doing good. Why don’t you try pressing down on the accelerator, just a little bit.” The car jerked to a stop. “That’s the brake.”

“Sorry.”

“The pedal on the right, press that one.” This time, the car jerked forward. Mustang was thrown back against the seat. Ed didn’t notice. His smile grew even wider.

“How fast can I go?”

“No faster than this!” Mustang took a breath and pushed down the rising panic. “Check your gauge. How fast are you going right now?”

“Uh… 24 miles an hour.”

“That’s fast enough.”

“Aw…”

“Here, pull up to the end of this lane and then stop. I’ll show you how to turn properly. _Gently_ stop.”

Mustang pointed out the turn signal; it was on the left side of the wheel, so it was easy for the kid to reach. He talked Ed through signalling, turning, braking, signalling, and then turning again. Then he gave him free reign to cruise around the parking lot.

He watched Ed with his elbow propped up on the door and his chin resting on his fist. The kid was surprisingly dexterous with that one arm. He kept changing his hand’s placement on the wheel depending on what he had to do to keep the car under control. Once he found his rhythm, he easily switched between steering and flipping on the signal. His brow furrowed in concentration, and his gaze flicked between the road and the speedometer. A sense of pride warmed Mustang's chest. He smiled.

“You’re doing great.”

“Thanks!”

“Do you think you can get us to Coldstone?”

The car came to a sudden stop again. Mustang’s hands flew to the dashboard to stop him from smashing into it. When he recovered, he saw Ed staring up at him with wide, worried eyes. “I-I don’t think I can do that.”

“Why not?”

“I just learned how to drive today.”

“You know how to speed up, turn, and stop.”

“It’s too far.”

“It’s just down the street.”

“There are other cars on the road.”

“We’ll stay in the slow lane.”

“It’s illegal for me to drive.”

“That only matters if we get pulled over.”

“I only have one arm.”

“I’ll let you go 35 miles an hour.”

Ed grinned. “Let’s go!”

Mustang directed him to the access road that connected the old supermarket to the main street. Ed hesitated at the intersection, but Mustang squeezed his shoulder and told him he’d be fine. The kid took a deep breath and then nodded. “Right. Here goes nothing.” He flicked on the turn signal, waited for a break in the traffic, and then turned right.

It was a quiet Tuesday afternoon, and the traffic was light. Mustang explained the difference between the slow and fast lanes and told Ed to stay in the right lane.

“Hey, wait a minute! That sign says the speed limit is 45!”

“And 35 is below 45. So you’re within the speed limit. Good job.”

“I want to go faster!”

“You’re not going faster.”

“Come on! I gotta go with the flow of traffic!”

“There is no traffic.”

"You speed all the time!"

"I'm more experienced."

“Please! I won’t hit anything!”

Mustang looked behind them. He looked beside them. He looked ahead of them. “Fine. Forty. No faster.”

Ed smiled triumphantly and sped the car up. Mustang squeezed the armrest. “Careful… stay in the middle of the lane. Don’t let the car weave.”

“I know, Dad.”

“Keep the wheel steady.”

“I know, Dad.”

“Focus far ahead of you, not right in front of you. That’ll keep the car from weaving.”

“I know, Dad!”

“Then why is the car still weaving?”

“Because I only have one arm!”

“Oh. Right.”

The ice cream shop was on the corner of the next intersection. Along the way, they drove by gas stations, strip malls, and entrances to small neighborhoods. Only a few cars passed them. Everyone was either at work or indoors to avoid the summer heat. Things were going smoothly until a soccer-mom van suddenly pulled out in front of them.

“Agh! Dad! What do I do?!”

“Brake! Hit the brake!”

Ed was frozen in his seat. Mustang reached over, grabbed the wheel, and forced them into the left lane, neatly dodging the soccer mom. He let out a sigh of relief, but then he checked the mirror and saw the van drifting into the left lane. Without a turn signal, of course. His heart quickened as he realized she was about to merge on top of them.

“Speed up!”

“What?”

“I said speed up!”

Ed hit the accelerator, and Mustang pulled the wheel towards him, yanking it out of Ed’s grip. The engine revved, and the car swerved back into the right lane.

Mustang was still leaning into the driver’s side when the van passed them. He hit the horn and yelled through the window, "Asshole!” Satisfied, he returned to his seat and relaxed. Then Ed stomped on the brake, and Mustang flew into the dashboard.

“Ed! What are you--” The driver-side door slammed shut. The kid was already out of the car.

Mustang jumped out and looked around. Ed was crouching on the sidewalk and rocking back and forth with his face buried in his arm. “Ed, come on, get back in the car.”

“I told you I wasn’t ready!” His arm muffled his voice.

“That was a fluke. The other driver wasn’t doing what they were supposed to. Come on, you’ll be fine the rest of the way.”

“No! I don’t want to!”

“Okay, I’ll drive.”

“I’m not getting back in the car!”

“What, you’re going to walk home?”

“If I have to.”

“Ed, we don’t have time for this! We can’t just leave the car sitting in the road!”

“You drive, I’ll walk.”

“Fine. But I have to fix the seat first; you raised it so high, I won’t be able to fit.”

Ed jumped up and faced him. “What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“It means you’re so short, you completely messed up my configuration.”

_“Stop calling me short!”_

A car drove by and startled them both out of their argument. They looked at each other and then immediately got in their car, Mustang in the driver’s seat, Ed in the passenger’s. Ed hadn’t bothered turning the ignition off when he jumped out, so the engine was still running. It filled the awkward silence as father and son each waited for the other to speak first. Finally, Mustang sighed, clicked his seatbelt into place, and put the car back in drive.

“You’re not going to move the seat?” Ed asked weakly.

Mustang eased the car up to the speed limit. “It’ll be fine until we get there.”

At the ice cream shop, Ed ordered something creative piled high with goodies. Mustang just got regular ice cream. He ate slowly, more focused on watching Ed. The boy robotically shoveled ice cream into his mouth without looking up.

“My parents always told me that if someone else has to put on their brakes, then you cut them off and you shouldn’t have done whatever you just did.” Ed stopped shoveling and looked up in confusion. Mustang continued, “You had to either brake or swerve to avoid hitting that woman. So she cut you off. She was in the wrong. It wasn’t your fault.”

Ed lowered his gaze again. “I still froze up.”

“That’s okay, Ed. It’s natural. The good news is I was there to help you. So the next time you’re in that situation, you’ll know what to do.”

Ed didn’t answer; instead, he resumed eating. Mustang took another bite of his ice cream and turned his head to gaze out the window.

“Dad?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you for teaching me how to drive today.”

Mustang smiled. “You’re welcome. Do you want to do it again in the future?”

Ed’s face brightened, and he nodded. “Yeah, I do!”

“Sounds good. We’ll look into getting you a permit, too.”

“I don’t know if I can get one.”

“It’s worth a try.”

“Are you going to teach Al to drive, too?”

“Of course. Why do you ask?”

“I was just wondering… why didn’t you bring him along today?”

Mustang swallowed. He cared for both of his sons, he really did. But, even though he felt guilty for it, he had a special bond with Ed that he didn’t share with Al. “You’re the older one. You’ll reach sixteen first. When Al turns fifteen, we’ll get him a permit.”

“But he has two arms. He’ll be more useful if you fall and hit your head like the geezer you are.”

“You must not want any more driving lessons if you’re so quick to sass me.”

“Aw come on, that’s not fair! You already agreed!”

“Maybe I’ll just bring Al next time, and leave you home.”

“No! Take both of us! Please?”

“Hmm, we’ll see.”

“Sadist.”

“What was that?”

“Nothing!”

**Author's Note:**

> Canon Roy: "Nah, he can be a state alchemist at age twelve, it's fine."  
> Modern AU Roy: "Nah, he can drive with one arm, it's fine."


End file.
